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Vancouver police say they have arrested a 31-year-old Burnaby man after he allegedly attacked a police dog with a pair of scissors Sunday night when officers cornered him in a stolen van on Victoria Drive.

Police saw the stolen van being driven through Strathcona east along Hastings Street near Dunlevy Avenue just after 9 p.m., according to a statement from spokesman Const. Brian Montague.

Officers followed the van to Victoria Drive where they boxed it in and released Shack the police dog to help get the man under arrest, Montague's statement said.

As the dog bit the man, he grabbed a pair of scissors and "reportedly began stabbing at the police dog," according to Montague.

The dog's handler and other officers stepped in and eventually arrested the man, Montague said.

The man was treated for his bites and taken to jail, while the dog and another officer had minor injuries, Montague's statement said.

The man, who is known to police, will face several criminal charges including intentionally trying to harm a service dog, Montague's statement said.

Pivot Legal Society made a formal complaint to Vancouver police in 2011 asking for a review of the department’s “bite and hold” policy where a police dog, when released to chase a suspect, will bite until its handler calls it off. In January 2012, the Vancouver Police Board dismissed the complaint after Chief Jim Chu told its members that the policy, which he said allows the handler to decide when force will be used, is how over 70 per cent of American police dogs are trained.

The VPD said in a report prepared in response to the Pivot complaint police dogs attended 1023 calls in 2010, and dogs were involved in 140 apprehensions. Of those, 35 to 40 suspects had minor injuries and 85 suspects needed medical attention.

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